A farewell to George Yardley

It would be easy to explain what a treasured son the Newport-Mesa

community lost when George Yardley passed away this month by listing

just his athletic accomplishments.

He was a three-time All-American at Stanford, where he set the

school’s single-season scoring record. He was the first NBA player to

score 2,000 points in a season. During his seven-year career, he was

named an All-Star six times and averaged 19.2 points and 8.9 rebounds

a game. He eventually was voted into the Naismith Hall of Fame.

But, as impressive as his prowess on the court was, the list tells

but part of the story.

Yardley, a product of Newport Harbor High, cut short a brilliant

NBA career, returned to California and became a successful

businessman -- Stanford does more than just churn out athletes, after

all. Among his successes in that world was patenting a seal for the

liquid oxygen fuel tank on the Atlas-Titan rocket that played a key

role in the United States keeping pace with the Soviet Union during

the Cold War.

And then he gave back to his community. He helped raise money for

athletic programs, most notably at his high school alma mater. He had

an infectious manner that lighted up rooms, tennis courts, golf

courses and, of course, basketball courts. Even his last battle with

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease,

did not sap his spirit. Need proof? In his final months, he helped

raise more than $100,000 to the ALS Assn. at the Ludwig Institute at

UC San Diego and the Orange County Chapter of the ALS Assn.

The community has surely lost an irreplaceable member, one who

will live on in the annual high school basketball tournament that

bears his name and in so many charitable efforts that would never

have been as successful without his time and effort.

The community has a chance today to say goodbye and thank you to

Yardley. Funeral services will be at noon at Calvary Chapel of Costa

Mesa. It is at 3800 S. Fairview St., Santa Ana. We will see you

there.